In article >,
"jmcquown" > wrote:

> "Michael Horowitz" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Last night I made beef stock. Tasted very watery.
> > Today I spent several hours reducing same.
> > Tastes better but still very weak.
> > Reading about, I see that this stock is intended to be the foundation
> > for other things; serving as a 'base' with which to build i.e. use it
> > to deglaze a pan, then (thus fortified, or with additional flavoring)
> > reduce further and thicken.
> > Is there a standard taste or feel that cooks use to determine how much
> > reduction of the stock is enough or is that something that is a
> > variable, corrected during a final reduction?
> > Certainly the stronger the stock, the more flavorful the final sauce.
> > - Mike
> >
>
> I have a myriad of questions
>
> How did you make the stock? How much water did you use? Did you use bare
> (rendering) bones or bones that had some meat on them? (I tend to save
> bones left over from t-bone or porterhouse steaks or standing rib roasts, so
> they still have a bit of meat on them*; store the bones in the freezer for
> when you're ready to make stock.) If you used rendering bones from the
> butcher you should roast them in the oven first for a couple of hours.
>
> Did you add any beef stock base (I hesitate to call it boullion since that
> conjurs up images of salty cube things) to enhance it? Did you cook it with
> root vegetables? Did you make a bouquet garni of herbs and spices to season
> the stock?
>
> Stock needs to simmer on *very* low heat for a very long time... we're
> talking 8-10 hours. You cannot rush it.

I think it was Escoffier who said something like: "The first 24 hours
for the flavor; the second 24 hours for the texture." It takes a long
time to dissolve all that lovely gelatin.

Isaac